Holy Fire Ceremony

        There were several extraordinary Dharma assemblies held in Pasadena that I did attend after my retreat, even though it was becoming increasingly difficult for me to even drive to southern California. I was able to continue holding some English classes at the Amitabha Buddha’s Temple of Compassion and Wisdom in Rosemead, California and even started a series of classes in San Diego with the much appreciated and bountiful support of Helen Pan. I would not have been able to do any of this without her help.

        One very rare Dharma assembly was held in Pasadena, California on September 19, 2018 and I was able to attend it—a Holy Fire Ceremony. It is believed that this Dharma has not been performed anywhere in the world for over 80 years. Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo Rinpoche (1878-1941), a Gelug lama in Tibet, was one of the last known masters who could perform this Dharma. Common fire offerings are frequently performed in Tibet, India, and elsewhere to halt disasters, remove hardships and difficulties, eliminate hindrances, and increase good fortune. I had attended such a ceremony in North Carolina many years ago, long before I had even heard of my present guru. It was one of the first Tibetan ceremonies that I experienced. However, in terms of the empowerment generated, it bore little resemblance to the Holy Fire Mandala Homa⁵⁰ Dharma that was practiced here. Those who had the good fortune to attend not only received the initiation to be able to practice this Dharma, which is considered the “king” or greatest of all Dharmas to eliminate living beings’ sins, hindrances, and dark karmas, but also were able to witness the subduing of evil, malicious demons and the successful subtle presentation of “Secretly Sending a Petition to a Bodhisattva.”

        I had such good fortune to attend and personally saw the Vajra Female Mahasattva ignite the fire in the specially prepared mandala stove using a flashing ray of light that burst into flames. We all kneeled to kowtow to pay respect and followed the ritual to start praying and burning our homas. I was not personally in a place to see the Vajra Female Mahasattva arrive, but I certainly saw the blaze of light that caused the fire to ignite.

        A disciple took the initiative to put the Vajra demon-subduing bowl used in the holy fire offering on a small flat-surface table upside down. Prior to this, other disciples had very carefully cleaned the table and the bowl in front of all of us. According to the Dharma, the bowl would gather and capture the demonic, opposing, and malicious karmas of everyone present at the fire offering site. The demonic beings would be suppressed inside the bowl. The demons tried to escape from the bowl. At this absolutely critical moment, a sound of “hong” or “hum” was heard. A lightning bolt launched by Vajra Female Mahasattva turned the malicious demons and dark karmas inside the bowl into foul-smelling crushed powders. The demonic souls were then brought to the Buddha Land by Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, to be taught and reformed under rigorous control there.

        Then the great Dharma of “Secretly Sending a Petition to a Bodhisattva” was practiced. All attendees at the site saw that with a tremendously loud “hong” or “hum” from the Vajra demon-subduing bowl, the edge of which was air-tight, being closed by the surface of the table, lightning-like fire instantly rose from the edge of the bowl and immediately went out. Someone then turned the bowl over. There was nothing inside or under the bowl. The “one petition” to be secretly sent to the Bodhisattva had already been taken away. It simply disappeared without a trace while we watched with our eyes wide open.

        As an aside, all the smoke generated from the burning demon bodies and the fire did not cause the smoke detectors in the ceiling of the Buddha Hall to go off or cause water to sprinkle down. That was a more worldly sort of miracle.

        It was at this ceremony that we learned Dharma King Gar Tongstan (FIGURE 48, page 129) would leave this world that night as he had predicted. He said that he would pass after this last Dharma assembly. This ceremony was what he had been waiting for. I knew this great Dharma King. He had been very kind to me. He was the enlightened one I wrote about earlier who had his enlightenment experiences recorded in the “Silver Box Discourses.” I was not able to attend his passing although others with whom I was staying did. The ceremony was exhausting, and I had to rest. He is greatly missed. He was able to “pass away in a state of perfect accomplishment before the ink dries” as he predicted in his farewell letter to the Buddha Master. He was truly an enlightened being just as he had said he was when he told our Buddha Master of his awakening. He left behind shariras; unprecedented relic-flowers in green, blue, yellow, white, and black; and a tooth-relic signifying his holy status (FIGURE 83).